Variable-speed gear.



No. 740,545. PATBNTED 001's, 1903. J. s. FAIRFAX. VARIABLE SPEED GEAR,

APPLIUATIOH PILED JULY 14.. 1902.

H0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 740,545. PATENTED 001?. a 1903.

' I. s. FAIRFAX.

VARIABLE SPEED GEAR.

APPLIC ATION TILED JULY 141-1902- I no Ion'EL. a sEEETs-sEEET 2 PATENTEDOCT. 6, 1903.

A J. s. FAIRFAX.

VARIABLE SPEED GEAR.

- APPLIOATION FILED JULY 14, 1902. K0 MODEL. '3 SHEETS-SHEET 3'.

Win/66366. I ZZZ/622L 07."

UNITED STATES Fatented October 6, 1903".

JOSEPH SINCLAIR FAIRFAX, OF. LONDON, ENGLAND.

VARIABLE-SPEED o EAR.

SPECIFICATION formingzpart of Letters Patent N0. 740,545, dated October6, 1903. Application filed July 14, M302.- Serinl No. 115,457. (Nomodel.)

To (ZZZ whom it may concern;

' Be it known that I, J osEPH S NoL-AIR FAIR- Fax, 2. subject of theKing of the British Do-.

minions,whose'post-ofilce address is 37 and 39 Essex street, Strand,London, England, have' invented certain new and useful Improvements inVariable-Speed Gear, (for which I applied for British Letters Patent May31, 1902, No. 12,321,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates toimprovements in variable-speed gear by which whenworked in one direction the revolutions 'per minute from the means ofproducing it; but to pro-- ventconfusion my invention will bedescribedas if it were always driven by a central shaft, which is causedto operate certain wheels or pulleys the periphery of which will beconsidered as the driven part, and the points of novelty relied on willbe set out in the claims.

The invention is applicable to the main shaft of quick-running motors,oil, gas, or other engines, but may be combined with'a counter-shaft. Itis adapted for driving velocipedes, motor-car or similar road or railvehicles, machine-tools, or for other useful perposes either by beltingor by toothed gearing.

In the further description of this invention reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a longitudinal verticalsection through a four-speed gear.' Fig. '2 is an end elevation of thesame, and Fig. 3 is a transverse section through Fig. l. Fig. 4 is alongitudinal vertical section through a two-speed gear, which isvirtually one-half of the fourspeed gear shown in Fig. 1, but withslight changes in the details of construction due to its smallerdimensions. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of Fig. 4 on the frame or supportside. Fig. '6 is also an end elevation of Fig. 4 on the opposite side toFig. 5, but showing a cross-head and slide. movement, explainedhereinafter with reference to Fig. 7, which is a similar section to Fig.4, but with one set of the pinion-teeth removed. Fig. Sis a longitudinalView of a four-speed gear,'(a modification of Fig. 1,) the upper halfbeing in section and the lower half in elevation.

'In all of the drawings pulleys adapted for belt-driving are shown ofequal diameter, so thata flat belt may be readily shifted from onepulley to the adjoining one in each two or fourspeed arrangement; but itwill be readily understood that the wide flanges may be dispensed withand spur gear-wheels used instead, as shownjn. Fig. 8 andvindicated bypulleys equally apply to spur gear-wheels.

In the drawings, a denotes any suitable form of frame or support to acompound bear ing b, which may either be cast integral with the frame a,as shown on the right-hand side of Fig. 1, or formed separately andfitted therein, as indicated on the left-hand side of the same figure.This compound bearing b is an important part of my invention, and it isbored ,to receive a central driving-shaft c, which is journaled androtatable therein. The shaft 0 may form the main shaft of an engine ormotor or a counter-shaft driven by any other means. The shaft 0 carriesa compound pinion cl, secured thereto in Fig. 1, having four sets ofteeth (1, d 01 and d, varying in diameter and engaging with the internalteeth of a series of wheels 6, f, g, and h of corresponding internaldiameters, each of which forms apart of or is secured to a separatepulley, (indicated by the same reference-letter, as e, f, g, and it.)These pulleys are all'of the same externaldiameter and, as shown, areadapted for belt-driving, the belt being moved by well-known means fromthe slowest-moving pulleye, for example, to f, the next fastest, andsoon to g and h, the ,quickest, or back again, as required. It will bereadily understood that the wide flanges of the pulleys may be dispensedwith and gear-teeth formed on the periphery instead, as indicated byFig. 8, if it is desired to drive by toothed gearing, in which case asliding spur-wheel (not shown) on a shaft arranged parallel with 0 maybe brought in successive dotted lines in Fig. 1, and that references tocontact with the teeth on e, f, g, and h to be driven at various ratesof speed or thrown out of gear by placing it in the wide spaces betweenthe teeth.

To allow the several sets of pinion-teeth to engage with and clearthemselves of the internal teeth surrounding them, the wheels e and f(engagingwith d and (1*, respectively) are mounted upon and revolve onan axialline eccentric to but parallel with the axial line on which thepinion-teeth d and (Z revolve. This is done by forming the outside ofthe compound bearing 1) eccentric to the interior bore for the shaft 0and fitting thehub of the internal toothed wheel 6 directly on theoutside of the bearing 1), so as to turn freely thereon, and similarlyfitting the enlarged hub of/the internal toothed wheel f on the hub ofe, as shown in Fig. 1.

To allow the parts to be fitted together, the hub of e is prolonged as asleeve the full length of the bearing l) and the external por tion ofthe pulley e is secured to the sleeve 6 by a set-screwj orother-suitable means after the portionfof the adjoining pulley has beenplaced on the sleeve e. The overhanging portion j", which carries theinternal teeth meshing with (1 is screwed to and completes the pulley f,and thus the latter has an independent motion and speed from the pulleye, driven by 61', due to the ratio between the numbers of their teeth.

The internal toothed wheel g (being the overhanging portion of thepulley g) meshes with the set of pinion-teeth 01 and the internaltoothed wheel h meshes with the set of pinion-teeth d in a similarmanner to c with d and f with (P. also similarly connected to theirrespective internal toothed portions g and h, as before described.Likewisehhasaprolongedsleeve fitted to revolve freely'upon the eccentriccompound bearing 1), which is also bored for the prolonged shaft 0 andsupported by the frame a. It will be seen, therefore, that the essentialelements of my invention consist of a frame or support carrying acompound bearing, in which is a rotatable shaft adapted by its rotationto drive a pinion, which meshes with an internal toothed wheel rotatableon the outside of the compound bearing, the revolution of the pinionbeing upon an axis eccentric to the axis on which the wheel isrotatable. By combining two such wheels so as to rotate upon the sameaxis and driving them by two sets of pinion-teeth having diversediameters and revolving in eccentric relation to the axis of the wheelstwo speeds are obtainable, both working in the same di rection. Anexample is given in Fig. 4 which is adapted to drive a motor-bicycle. Byextending the shaft 0 and duplicating the other parts (with slightmodifications in form and dimensions) the four-speed gear alreadydescribed with reference to Fig. 1 is produced.

The frame or supports a for a four-speed gear may be made in twodistinct halves and The pulleys g and h are bolted together by bolts andnutsa/ and a as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or formed integral as abase, with the compound bearings 11 bolted on through lugs. Two singlebases at, of the type shown in Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7,

may be combined and screwed to a base with an extended shaft 0 throughboth compound bearings b to form a fou r-speed gear, or when used singlythe support a may form a part of the crank case or frame of theengine-motor.

In the two-speed gear shown in Fig. at the overhung portion 6 of thepulley e, which is formed with internal teeth, is made integral with thepulley instead of being in two portions, as in Figs. 1 and 8. Thepulleyfand internal toothed portion f. are similarly formed integral, anextended flange fromf being fitted to rotate upon the outer surface ofthe part e. In this example it is preferred to make the pinion d in twodistinct pieces d and 61 which, as shown in Fig. 4, would drive the twopulleys eandfat two different speeds, both reduced from that of thedriving-shaft 0; but by removing d as shown in Fig. 7, and fitting thecross-head o to slide upon the flattened sides of the shaft 0 andmovable at right angles in the lugs f formed on the face of the pulleyf,Fig. 6, a speed equivalent to that of the shaft 0 is imparted to thepulley f, and a washer c is adapted to keep the parts in place or isformed as c in Fig. 4 for the same purpose.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is-

1. A variable-speed gear having in combination a stationary tubularbearing, revoluble wheels mounted on the exterior thereof, a revolubleshaft journaled in said bearing, and intervening rotatable meansengaging with .said shaft and said wheels, substantially as set forth.

2. A variable-speed gear having in combination a stationary bearing,revoluble wheels mounted thereon having the sameexternal diameter, arevoluble shaft journaled in said bearing and having means to actuatesaid wheels at diverse speeds, substantially as set forth.

3. A variable-speed gear having in combination a stationary bearing,revoluble wheels mounted on said bearing, a revoluble shaft journaled insaid bearing, and between said wheels and said shaft interveningrotatable means having an axis of rotation eccentric to the axis of saidwheels to operate them at diverse speeds, substantially as set forth.

4. A variable-speed gear having in combination a stationary bearing, arevoluble shaft journaled in said bearing, a revoluble wheel mounted onsaid bearing, a second wheel mounted to rotate concentricallywith thefirst, and intervening means rotatable on an eccentric axis engagingwith said wheels and said shaft, substantially as set forth.

IIO

5. A variable-speed gear having in combination a compound bearing, arevoluble shaft ing internal teeth mounted and revoluble on saidcompound bearing, and a compound pinion mounted on said shaft meshingwith said internal teeth, substantially as set forth.

6. A variable-speed gear having in combination a compoundstationarylbearingm revoluble shaft journaled therein, a plurality ofwheels of the same exterior diameter but each having internal teeth ofdiverse diameter mounted on said bearing, a pinion secured to said shafthaving teeth engaging with said internal teeth, and means to rotate saidpinion on an axis eccentric to the axis of rotation of said wheels,substantially as set forth.

7. A variable-speed gear having in combination a compound bearing, meansto support the same, revoluble wheels mounted thereon, a revoluble shaftjournaled therein, and a pinion adapted to operate said wheels by saidshaft in eccentric relation to their axis at diverse speeds,substantiall as set forth.

8. In a variablespe'ed gear, the combination of a tubular bearing, arevoluble member on the outside of said bearing, a revoluble memberinside said bearing having an axis of rotation eccentric to that of saidout side member, and a frame supporting said bearing in stationaryrelation to said revoluble members, substantially as set forth.

9. In a variable-speed gear, a compound bearing, a rotatable shaftjournaled therein adapted to operate a driving member rotatable on anaxis eccentric to the axis of the exterior of the said bearing,substantially as set forth.

10. In a variable-speed gear, the combination of a driving member, and adriven member,with a compound bearing adapted to keep them in rotatableeccentric relation substantially as set forth.

11. In a variable-speed gear; the combination of a driving member, adriven member,

a stationary bearing, and means to keep said driving and driven membersin rotatable and eccentric relation to each other, substantially as setforth. I

12. In a variable-speed gear, the combination of a stationary tubularbearing, revoluble wheels mounted on the exterior of said bearing, andmeans for actuating said wheels at diverse speeds, substantially as setforth.

13. In a variable-speed gear, the combination of a stationary bearing,revoluble members mounted thereon, a rotatable shaft journaled therein,and means for communicating rotary motion from said shaft to saidmembers or reversely, substantially as set forth.

14. In a variable-speed gear, the combination of a stationary bearing,revoluble members mounted thereon, a shaft journaled therein, and apinion adapted to communicate rotary motion between said shaft and saidmembers, substantially as set forth.

15. In a variable-speed gear, the combination of a stationary bearing,revoluble members mounted thereon, a shaft journaled therein, and acompound pinion, adapted to communicate rotary motion between said shaftand said members, having its axisof rotation eccentric to the axis ofsaid members, substantially as set forth.

16. In a variable-speed gear the combination of two compound hearings inline, one or more revoluble members mounted on each bearing, and arevoluble member jonrnaled in said bearings, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH SINCLAIR FAIRFAX.

